Using a Compact Flash card on a600/a1200 PCMCIA - Page 16

Arnie · 21 April 2016, 09:38

The only cards that worked in my A1200 PCMCIA were Sandisk.
There is also the possibility that the adapter isn't working properly.

Cobe · 02 May 2016, 09:37

Tried two other cards and they work straight away.

Lord Aga · 02 May 2016, 10:37

Must be witchcraft !
Had any mages around the house lately ?

Arnie · 02 May 2016, 12:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobe

Tried two other cards and they work straight away.

Good for you

spannernick · 29 June 2016, 15:46

How fast is it at transferring files the PCMCIA slot,I would guess its a lot faster than serial,and when you plug it in dose it come up like a drive would.I ask cos I have never had one..?

I transfer files,well not big ones using Amiga Explorer.

idrougge · 30 June 2016, 02:22

It's even faster than the hard drive, usually. It comes up as a volume in unit CF0:.

donnie · 23 May 2018, 12:22

i want to buy an pcmicia cf adapter to transfer files between my pc and a1200 hdd. Does it matter which one i buy?

the cards themselves should be sandisk.

amigastore etc are selling these adf transfer kits. Do you need them. I dont want to transfer from pcmcia to adf but to pcmcia to hdd.

Jope · 23 May 2018, 13:20

As long as it is PCMCIA and not Cardbus, you should be able to use any adapter.

Amigastore's kit is ready to go, you have the drivers and the adapter in hand after that. Perhaps the disk even contains an installer to make it easy to get the driver to your internal hard disk/card, but this is a guess - I'm not in the target audience.

If you know how AmigaOS works, you can just buy the adapter from anywhere and download the drivers from Aminet. cfd.lha fat95.lha

donnie · 23 May 2018, 19:41

thanks man!

Romanujan · 27 June 2018, 00:16

The compactflash.device from Aminet is not the latest one - see here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m22hbwr7r4...FD133.lha?dl=0 - this one is said to support more cards.

Neil79 · 20 July 2018, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romanujan

The compactflash.device from Aminet is not the latest one - see here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m22hbwr7r4...FD133.lha?dl=0 - this one is said to support more cards.

Is there any way of copying from an ADF file because I can't access my PCMCIA and opening the Amiga just for one file is a bit much.

d4rk3lf · 25 September 2018, 16:41

I hope it's right place to ask.

I am using 2 CF cards (8GB, Transcend) for my Aca500+, and it works great.
However, when I downloaded the whole Whload package (around 5-6GB size, and wanted to transfer to my CF card (via PC), it copies 2.5 to max 3GB and then it says there is no free space.
Tried several times, but couldn't copy.

Thanks in advance.

majinga · 26 September 2018, 00:04

It's one file package? The CF are in FAT32, the file size limit is 4GB.

d4rk3lf · 26 September 2018, 11:31

It's not.
I unpacked every LHA on PC, so it has folders Games/A,B,C,D... and in every letter is folders with games.
Everything is 5.8 GB.
Same like here, where I download all the stuff, only I unpacked LHA's
https://mega.nz/#F!gdozjZxL!uI5Sheet...Rjf2A!5AgyxZCL

I tried coping both from my desktop pc and laptop pc... same thing... they say the card is full, even I copied only 2.5 to 3GB.
I've tried deleting everything from the card (it says 8GB free), and coping again....same thing.

Any ideas?
Tnx
-----------
Maybe it's a number of files issue?
Does Fat32 have some restrictions about how many files you can have on card?
Can I make somehow 2 partitions, on CF card, and try that, and how do I do that?

Zippy Zapp · 26 September 2018, 14:59

A couple of reasons I can think of:
1. Could the card be a fake and it is not really 8GB but perhaps 4GB?
2. Could it be the format Allocation Unit size?

Daedalus · 26 September 2018, 15:39

FAT32 (like the Amiga's FFS) can have different block sizes, and if you have a large block size, it's less efficient for many small files as the Amiga uses, and all the small bits of wasted space add up. For example, a 1.5KB file on a 2KB block size takes up 2KB of space. The same file on a 32KB block size filesystem takes up 32KB of space. With thousands of files, that can add up significantly.

Another possibility is that the space is already allocated by deleted files, for example if you've deleted files to the trashcan but not emptied the trashcan before removing the drive, the space remains allocated on the card.

Aside from everything else, it's not really a great idea to unpack LHa files on the PC or a non-Amiga filesystem as some file properties can be lost. Perhaps using an Amiga-formatted CF card and unpacking them to the card in WinUAE might be a better approach.

majinga · 26 September 2018, 22:46

It can be a cluster size issue ... but I don't think. There is too much free space on the card.

The card can really be a fake, or broken. There are a lot of program to check it. They basically fill the entire space with something, I suppose it can be done even with some simple tool like dd.

Is the first time you try to fit more than 4GB in the CF?

Can't be the trash can. Files on the trash continue to take space on the disk.

d4rk3lf · 01 October 2018, 23:03

Thanks a lot to all of you.
Sorry for a little bit late reply, but I wasn't around
I'll do more testing, and will let you know.

What I think is maybe a problem is a partition size. It's 8GB, yet, PC copy only 2-3GB.
Can I make few partitions on one CF card?
Should I do it on PC, or Amiga, and what app you recommend?

WildW · 15 November 2018, 16:36

Can I be annoying and ask the opposite question? I just installed the Analogic 8mb fast ram card in my 1200's trapdoor, then was surprised to find that file transfer via PCMCIA compact flash (fat95) still works. It has 3.0 rom so i guess that's why the PCMCIA isn't disabled....but is it likely to work normally or will i get problems and crashes when i least expect? Is compact flash via PCMCIA memory mapped?

fgh · 15 November 2018, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildW

Can I be annoying and ask the opposite question? I just installed the Analogic 8mb fast ram card in my 1200's trapdoor, then was surprised to find that file transfer via PCMCIA compact flash (fat95) still works. It has 3.0 rom so i guess that's why the PCMCIA isn't disabled....but is it likely to work normally or will i get problems and crashes when i least expect? Is compact flash via PCMCIA memory mapped?

Only PCMCIA memory cards conflict with 8MB RAM cards. Ethernet/Wifi/SD/CF cards use PCMCIA I/O memory space which doesn't conflict with SRAM.
So you're fine as you are with 3.0 (or with a patch on 3.1).

26 September 2018, 11:31	#314
d4rk3lf Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Novi Sad, Serbia Posts: 1,645	It's not. I unpacked every LHA on PC, so it has folders Games/A,B,C,D... and in every letter is folders with games. Everything is 5.8 GB. Same like here, where I download all the stuff, only I unpacked LHA's https://mega.nz/#F!gdozjZxL!uI5Sheet...Rjf2A!5AgyxZCL I tried coping both from my desktop pc and laptop pc... same thing... they say the card is full, even I copied only 2.5 to 3GB. I've tried deleting everything from the card (it says 8GB free), and coping again....same thing. Any ideas? Tnx ----------- Maybe it's a number of files issue? Does Fat32 have some restrictions about how many files you can have on card? Can I make somehow 2 partitions, on CF card, and try that, and how do I do that? Last edited by d4rk3lf; 26 September 2018 at 11:38.

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21 April 2016, 09:38	#301
Arnie R.I.P Smudge 18-08-16 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Leicester/UK Age: 66 Posts: 3,968	The only cards that worked in my A1200 PCMCIA were Sandisk. There is also the possibility that the adapter isn't working properly.

02 May 2016, 09:37	#302
Cobe Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Belgrade / Serbia Age: 41 Posts: 999	Tried two other cards and they work straight away.

02 May 2016, 10:37	#303
Lord Aga MI clan prevails Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Posts: 1,443	Must be witchcraft ! Had any mages around the house lately ?

29 June 2016, 15:46	#305
spannernick Retro Nuts Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London/UK Age: 53 Posts: 1,184	How fast is it at transferring files the PCMCIA slot,I would guess its a lot faster than serial,and when you plug it in dose it come up like a drive would.I ask cos I have never had one..? I transfer files,well not big ones using Amiga Explorer.

30 June 2016, 02:22	#306
idrougge Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 4,332	It's even faster than the hard drive, usually. It comes up as a volume in unit CF0:.

23 May 2018, 12:22	#307
donnie Registered User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: sthlm Posts: 226	i want to buy an pcmicia cf adapter to transfer files between my pc and a1200 hdd. Does it matter which one i buy? the cards themselves should be sandisk. amigastore etc are selling these adf transfer kits. Do you need them. I dont want to transfer from pcmcia to adf but to pcmcia to hdd.

23 May 2018, 13:20	#308
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	As long as it is PCMCIA and not Cardbus, you should be able to use any adapter. Amigastore's kit is ready to go, you have the drivers and the adapter in hand after that. Perhaps the disk even contains an installer to make it easy to get the driver to your internal hard disk/card, but this is a guess - I'm not in the target audience. If you know how AmigaOS works, you can just buy the adapter from anywhere and download the drivers from Aminet. cfd.lha fat95.lha

23 May 2018, 19:41	#309
donnie Registered User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: sthlm Posts: 226	thanks man!

27 June 2018, 00:16	#310
Romanujan Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Szczecin/Poland Posts: 424	The compactflash.device from Aminet is not the latest one - see here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m22hbwr7r4...FD133.lha?dl=0 - this one is said to support more cards.

25 September 2018, 16:41	#312
d4rk3lf Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Novi Sad, Serbia Posts: 1,645	I hope it's right place to ask. I am using 2 CF cards (8GB, Transcend) for my Aca500+, and it works great. However, when I downloaded the whole Whload package (around 5-6GB size, and wanted to transfer to my CF card (via PC), it copies 2.5 to max 3GB and then it says there is no free space. Tried several times, but couldn't copy. Thanks in advance.

26 September 2018, 00:04	#313
majinga Registered User Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Italy Posts: 52	It's one file package? The CF are in FAT32, the file size limit is 4GB.

26 September 2018, 14:59	#315
Zippy Zapp Registered User Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: CA/USA Posts: 346	A couple of reasons I can think of: 1. Could the card be a fake and it is not really 8GB but perhaps 4GB? 2. Could it be the format Allocation Unit size?

26 September 2018, 15:39	#316
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,334	FAT32 (like the Amiga's FFS) can have different block sizes, and if you have a large block size, it's less efficient for many small files as the Amiga uses, and all the small bits of wasted space add up. For example, a 1.5KB file on a 2KB block size takes up 2KB of space. The same file on a 32KB block size filesystem takes up 32KB of space. With thousands of files, that can add up significantly. Another possibility is that the space is already allocated by deleted files, for example if you've deleted files to the trashcan but not emptied the trashcan before removing the drive, the space remains allocated on the card. Aside from everything else, it's not really a great idea to unpack LHa files on the PC or a non-Amiga filesystem as some file properties can be lost. Perhaps using an Amiga-formatted CF card and unpacking them to the card in WinUAE might be a better approach.

26 September 2018, 22:46	#317
majinga Registered User Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Italy Posts: 52	It can be a cluster size issue ... but I don't think. There is too much free space on the card. The card can really be a fake, or broken. There are a lot of program to check it. They basically fill the entire space with something, I suppose it can be done even with some simple tool like dd. Is the first time you try to fit more than 4GB in the CF? Can't be the trash can. Files on the trash continue to take space on the disk.

01 October 2018, 23:03	#318
d4rk3lf Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Novi Sad, Serbia Posts: 1,645	Thanks a lot to all of you. Sorry for a little bit late reply, but I wasn't around I'll do more testing, and will let you know. What I think is maybe a problem is a partition size. It's 8GB, yet, PC copy only 2-3GB. Can I make few partitions on one CF card? Should I do it on PC, or Amiga, and what app you recommend?

15 November 2018, 16:36	#319
WildW Registered User Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Cranbrook, UK Posts: 36	Can I be annoying and ask the opposite question? I just installed the Analogic 8mb fast ram card in my 1200's trapdoor, then was surprised to find that file transfer via PCMCIA compact flash (fat95) still works. It has 3.0 rom so i guess that's why the PCMCIA isn't disabled....but is it likely to work normally or will i get problems and crashes when i least expect? Is compact flash via PCMCIA memory mapped?

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